Laurel man granted bail after homicide conviction overturned

BILLINGS (AP) — A Laurel man has been granted bail after the Montana Supreme Court overturned his deliberate homicide conviction for cutting a man’s throat during an argument over which branch of the military was the best.

KULR-TV reports District Judge Donald Harris on Friday set bail at $500,000 for 66-year-old William Cunningham. He remained in the Yellowstone County jail on Sunday.

Cunningham has admitted cutting the throat of 40-year-old Nathan Horn in March 2015, but says he did so in self-defense. The Supreme Court found on March 21 that the trial judge was wrong in not allowing Cunningham to testify about statements Horn made to spark the argument.

Justices also found that the lower court erred by not allowing the defense to question the competency of the man who performed the autopsy.